"Hope that's not where these creatures are coming from, but a place called the Forges of Wrath doesn't make that seem likely."
"So this is more... uh... Runelord stuff? And we have to go face them on their home turf?" says Rudrik.
Calendula taps the runes with her sword.
"Ayup. Thas a portal, alright. Seen ones like these in the Worldwound." She offers no further explanation from what was already said by Shenuska and Theodric.
"Assuming another one is waking up," he said to Rudrik, "but just about anything dealing with ancient magic in Varisia inevitably involves the Runelords in some way - that sword for a prime example. I can't recall what sort of place Hollow Mountain was for the Runelords, though, history to that extent's not quite my speciality."
"Hollow Mountain is in the Varisian Gulf. Runelord Alaznist had her face carved into it - I pity everyone that had to look at that all the time. It's meant to be full of strange creatures and so forth - a centre of Wrath's power once upon a time." Shenuska explains, one hand resting on the hilt of Baraket which juts from her hip.
"There's nothing we can do about this here though. We can warn the authorities once we get back, maybe have it guarded but we should finish the complex first. Let's go this way." She says, gesturing to the door opposite the portal.
"Wow. And Mother said that I had an issue with vanity," Nime says with a smile and a shake of her head.
The door opens onto a luxurious suite that has seen better days. Though outfitted with draping curtains and tapestries of immense battles, the smell of spoiled food and animal musk fouls the air.
A hulking sinspawn is here, clad in chainmail and gripping a glowing red halberd. A pair of fleshdregs accompany him. The sinpsawn's mouth twitches as he gathers as much sincerity as he can and addresses you in a rasping voice.
"Welcome. On your way down here to stop me, you ended up killing dozens. You show your wrath well. Perhaps you have a place at my Lady's side? Join me, and we'll take this town in a direction those other fools would never have been capable of. Alaznist will be pleased to see you help me raise an army before she takes back what she has lost."
The sinspawn snarls and eagerly orders his minions to attack!
"I'd rather kiss you." Shenuska responds, her voice glacial, "and I have no intention of doing that!"
"Love is the strongest way to battle anger," Nime says, taking Shenuska's offer legitimately.
Theo's reply to the creature's offer was simply to raise his recently-obtained metamagic rod and release the fire once more.
Though one of the fleshdreg resists Theo's spell, the other one shrieks as the flames incinerate it.
The sinspawn, who can only be Mozamer, clutches a holy symbol depicting a circular rune adorned with eyes. He barks out a harsh prayer in Abyssal, and a shimmering energy field surrounds him,
Nime calls upon the power of Shelyn's love to bless their efforts.
Shenuska draws Baraket and points it threateningly at Mozamer. The air ripples around him... but he remains unaffected!
Calendula ambles around the table, already sweating from the heat in her blood brought on by a worthy battle. She mumbles something rude about Mozamer's split jaw and throws her sword at him, her arm stretching forth painfully and snapping back with an audible series of snaps and cracks.
Mozamer snarls in pain as Calendula slices him with her sword!
Rudrik moves up to the fleshdreg and drives his gladius into its chest. It's only a light wound, though, and the monster retaliates by biting the half-orc, drooling sizzling acid into his injury!
As he moved up behind Calendula, and frustratedly tucking the metamagic rod back into his coat, Theo bent light around him until multiple illusory copies appeared around him.
Mozamer steps forward, slashing and biting at Calendula. The sinspawn scores a powerful hit with his halberd!
With no clear space to get at Mozamer, Theo leapt up onto the table to get at him with his spear.
Calendula staggers back from the hit , nearly falling into unconsciousness, but steels herself. The halberd cut deep through her chest and upper arm, leaving a sickly black wound, oozing blood like pus. Some of the blood, normally thick and viscous and cold, has warmed by the same heat that battle always brings and slides quickly down her arm, dripping onto her rusted blade.
She thrusts forth at Mozamer, taking time to call him an "ugly, veiny freak."
She wonders briefly what it would be like to die.
Rudrik makes one last slash with his gladius, then collapses and starts bleeding to death.
Calendula scores another powerful hit, her icy blood scouring Mozamer's pale flesh. Rudrik impales the fleshdreg, finishing it off. Theodric climbs up on the table and stabs at Mozamer, but the sinspawn parries with his halberd.
Shenuska steps delicately across Rudrik and the fleshdreg to threaten Morzamer from behind.
Nime seems torn between which of her friends to help first, but finally decides that Calendula looks worse off and gambles forward to call down Shelyn's healing love on her with a touch and a prayer.
Mozamer's tongue lashes the air as his sideways mouth twists into a grimace. "Fools! Feel the wrath of the Polymorph Plague!" He takes a step back from Calendula and Theo and grasps his unholy symbol, sending waves of negative energy to wrack you all with pain!
Calendula's breath comes shallow and fast, sweat pouring down her face and body. With a final effort, she takes a step forward and throws her bloodied sword arm at the creature, gasping "Iomedae, guide my sword."
Mozamer shrieks again as Calendula's sword tears open his belly. Bloody entrails spill forth, and he puts his hand to his gut to try to hold them in. Despite the grievous wound, the tough sinspawn is still standing!
Shenuska, like Calendula, steps sideways to re-establish her flanking maneuver and stabs forward again. Baraket's invisible blade flickers out to leave a thin line of blood across the sinspawns neck!
With the creature distracted for the moment, Theo quickly hopped down and fed Rudrik his last healing potion.
After healing Calendula, Nime moves around the table to Rudrik's side and puts her hands on him.
Rudrik bravely moves to rejoin the fight. He tumbles under Mozamer's reach and slashes at the sinspawn, but his blade scrapes against the creature's chainmail. Theo misses, but Shenuska scores a good hit with Baraket.
Though badly wounded, Mozamer assaults Calendula with vicious fury. His halberd bites deeply into her side, and while she just barely parries the follow-up strike, the sinspawn bites into her neck, tearing at her throat. The bloodrager collapses, bleeding out!
Shenuska steps back and flicks Baraket towards Morzamer's back. The phantom blade appears in ghostly outline, streaking towards the sinspawns back! It seems to strike something a few inches from flesh, but slides through to strike the sinspawn in the back!
Shenuska's magic missiles slam into Mozamer, crushing bone and rupturing flesh. He lets out a final strained shriek before finally collapsing in a bruised and bloody heap--next to the bruised and bloody heap that is Calendula. Fortunately, the bloodrager is still barely clinging to life!
The suite is nearly empty of valuables, though one of the desks contains several crumpled sheets of paper with scribbled writing in Thassilonian.
When he was sure someone was patching Rudrik up , Theo looked around the room and came across the documents.
"Ugh; Thassilonian's hard enough to read as it is, but when you're handwriting is this bad..."
"Bloody hell, I'm seeing some stuff related to conjuration magic - I can recognise that rune easily enough but, honestly, I've seen physicians with more legible writing."
Shenuska thrusts Baraket into the sinspawn's eye before removing the blade and doing her best to clean it. She then moves to inspect the writing from behind Theo, her warm breath on his neck no doubt helping him concentrate much better...
"He's been trying to fix the portal. Mixed success and I think we've killed most of his summons. Except for the hydraggon qlippoth..." She says, before a frown creases her features. "He thinks if the power source is recharged then he could build an entire network. That sounds like something that needs stopping!"
Shen standing so close hadn't helped with translating the paperwork. While he prided himself on keeping his interest in the fairer sex under control, he wasn't immune.
"Summons?" Theo asked, turning to face Shen. "So that portal might not be an open doorway, after all? Something on the other side needs something here to call it through?" While he wasn't as interested in Thassilon as his family members, their culture and magic still intrigued him and it was one way he'd learnt to keep his desires in check.